Garment-hanger.



No. 720,396. PATE'N-ITED FEB. 10, 1903.

' A. F. BARNUM.

GARMENT HANGER;

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1902.

1T0 MODEL.

WITNESSES: /N VEN 70/? W 972720;1 War/210k I I i B y M 2m A TTOHNE rs.

position.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS FELL BARNUM, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK.

GARMENT-HANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,396, dated. February 10, 1903.

Application filed August 19, 1902. Sen'al No. 120,179. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMOS FELL BARNUM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Garment-Hanger, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to adeviceintended particularly for hanging trousers so that they will retain their proper shape. It is useful, however, in connection with other garments, as will be apparent.

lheinvention comprises asupportingmember or body and a number of independentlymounted hanger-frames which are capable of being folded back against the support or of extending outward therefrom into active The construction is such that the whole device maybe supported from a single hook or the like driven into any vertical objectsuch, for example, as the wall of an apartment.

are definitions of the exact scope thereof.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a front view showing the device folded, and Fig. 2 is a side view illustrating some of the hangerframes extended and others in folded position.

0. indicates the supporting member or body, which is in the form of a board or like fiat structure and which is provided with an eye a, at its top, by means of which the device may be hung from the hook or other support aforesaid.

The hanger-frames are preferably formed of sections of stout wire, having intermediate portions 1) and outwardly-projecting side portions 1), the frames being therefore, each in the form essentially of an inverted U. The intermediate portions 17 are mounted to rock on the board or support a by means of staples or other equivalent means 0, said intermediate portions of the hanger-frames lying parallel one above the other, and the side parts 6 at points directly adjacent to the intermediate parts being bowed laterally of said intermediate parts, so as to clear the intermediate part of the frame next adjacent. The said intermediate parts of the hanger-frames are of gradually increasing length from the top of the garment-hanger downward, and the side members I) of the uppermost frame extend in front of and across the intermediate members below it. (See Fig. 1.) The free ends of the side members I) of the hangerframes have hooks 1) formed thereon, said hooks being preferably produced by bending the material of which the frame is formed, and in these hooks are removably placed the cross-bars d, which are one for each hangerframe and which extend across between the hooks b of the respective pairs of side portions Z). Reference to Fig. 1 will show that the side members 1) of the hanger gradually increase in length from the top downward, and when the frames are folded the crossbars d lie parallel one above the other. This also causes the side bars to lie alongside of each other when the frames are in active position, as contradistinguished from lying in the same vertical line, which would be the case were the hanger-frames of equal length. The cross-bars d virtually form parts of the hanger-frames.

When at rest, the parts lie in the position shown in Fig. 1that is to say, the several hanger-frames fall into vertical position and lie close against the body or supporting-board a. When the hanger-frames are in use, they project out, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 2, and are held in this position by a brace which comprises a'horizontal trunnion-like part 6, mounted to rockonthe body a and held in place bystaples or like devices f. e indicates an arm which forms the brace proper and which terminates in a lateral shoulder e This shoulder e is arranged to engage under the adjacent side portion of each hangerframe when said frames are raised into operative position, excepting the uppermost frame. This frame, having the shortest side portions b, is intended atall times to lie adjacent to the body a. All ofthe other hanger-frames, however, are adapted to be extended out into the position shown in Fig. 2. e indicates a toe on the trunnion e, by which the forward rocking of the brace-arm e is limited. When the brace-arm is engaged with the hangerframes near the top-say the second or third frame from the top-the shoulder e bears under the back of the adjacent hook b of said frame, and this hook prevents the brace-arm from swinging forward and disengaging the said frame. This action is greatly assisted by the friction between the parts. Assuming that the brace-arm is engaged with the second frame from the top, (the shortest frame with which said arm is intended to engage,) the frames below will all be supported in raised position through the medium of the cross-bar d of said second frame. In this case all of the frames will incline slightly upward from their intermediate portions b.

In using the invention a hanger-frame is thrown out into active position for each garment which is to be supported, and the garment is thrown over the cross-bar d. The dotted lines in Fig. 2 indicate a garment in place. It will be observed that the number of hanger-frames may be increased or diminished at will without in any way departing from the essential idea of the invention. Various other changes may be made in the form, proportions, and minor details of the invention without departing therefrom, and I consider myself entitled to all such variations as may lie within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A garment-hanger comprising a body, a plurality of U shaped hanger-frames the middle portions of which lie side by side in parallelism and are independently mounted on the body to allow the frames to swing, and means for holding one or more of the frames in a position extended outward from the body.

2. A garment-hanger comprisinga body, a plurality of U-shaped hanger-frames the middle portions of which lie side by side in parallelism and are independently mounted on the body to allow the frames to swing, means for holding one or more of the frames in a position extended outward from the body, and cross-bars extended between the side portions of the frames.

3. A garment-hanger comprisinga body, a

U-shaped frame having its middle portion mounted to swing thereon, said frame having its side portions terminating in hooks, anda cross-bar removably placed in said books.

4. A garment-hanger comprising a body, a plurality of U-shaped hanger-frames mounted to swing independently thereon, and a bracket adj ustably mounted on the body and capable of engaging one or more of the hangerframes to hold them in extended position.

5. Agarment-hanger comprisinga body, a plurality of U -shaped hanger-frames the middle portions of which are of gradually-increasing length and mounted to rock on the body in positions side by side and the side portions of which frames are of gradually-increasing length, cross-bars adapted to extend between said side portions of the hangerframes, and means for holding one or more of the hanger-frames in extended position.

6. A garment-hanger comprising a body, a plurality of U -shaped hanger-frames the middle portions of which are of gradually-increasing length andmounted to rock on the body in positions side by side and the side portions of which frames are of gradually-increasing length, cross-bars adapted to extend between said side portions of the hangerframes, and means for holding one or more of the hanger-frames in extended position, the said means for holding the hanger-frames comprising a bracket having a trunnion part arranged to turn on the body, and an arm with a shoulder at its end to engage with one or more of the hanger-frames.

7. In a garment-hanger, the combination of a body, aplurality ofhanger-frames mounted to swing thereon, and a bracket movably mounted on the body and capable of holding one or more of said frames in position extended out from the body.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AMOS FELL BARNUM.

Witnesses:

S. O. PRIoE, L. B. PARSONS. 

